Trapped Part 1
by megand220
Summary: Erik leaves Christine on her own in his house. She decides to snoop around a bit, but when she discovers a secret room, everything goes terribly wrong.


It had been quite a dreadful, uneventful day down in the Opera House cellars. Erik hadn't been in a particularly cheery mood, and had consequently spent most of the evening scribbling away on one of his musical works-in-progress that he usually saved as means of busying himself during the night. I surmised that his ill temper was much in part due to the fact that the managers had, once again, forgotten to pay his monthly salary on time. So, as he was otherwise occupied, I had nothing better to do than lounge around on the big, black sofa opposite his place at the organ and wait for him to come around.

However, after about of hour of my sitting idly and watching him – occasionally _listening_ to him test out a new line or two on the organ – I had had quite enough of remaining still for so long, and had asked him to take me back upstairs so that I might find something _useful_ to do with my time.

He had seemed mortally offended by my question; I often forget that he doesn't quite grasp the concept of social interaction, you see, so I instantly felt horrible. I tried to remedy the situation by suggesting we sing a duet – something he would have agreed to in an instant had he been in better spirits.

But alas, he'd merely shook his head distractedly and offered up the small Louis-Philippe bedroom for me, mistaking my want to go back to my bedroom as an admittance of fatigue. We proceeded to the room, then, for I had given up on getting him to pay me any mind that night, and he hummed something along the way. He absent-mindedly fixed my bed and fetched me a pitcher of water before offering a rather hasty "good-night" and running back off to the main chamber to continue working on his piece.

So there I sat, propped up against an array of pillows on the large, comfortable bed, flipping lamely through a book that I had selected from a collection on the bookshelf in the room. I was only taking in a few words here and there, not really paying any mind to the plot or the characters or anything. I was, to put it bluntly, extremely _bored_. And I certainly wasn't at all tired. But else was I to do?

I glanced at the clock that sat on the mantle across from my bed. Its ornate hands told me that it was nine o'clock in the evening. I sighed, giving up on trying to amuse myself with the rather uninteresting story. I set the book on my nightstand and let my hands drop into my lap. What on earth was I to do now, while Erik expected me to be asleep?

Feeling helpless, I looked around, letting the coziness of the room sink in, hoping this might make me feel a bit sleepy. But I didn't feel the faintest bit tired, and I certainly wasn't going to subject myself to hours of endless tossing and turning in an attempt to force myself to snooze. There was absolutely nothing in the room that drew my immediate interest, nothing at all. The other books on the shelf almost begged me not to come near them, as they'd surely end up discarded, just as unwanted as their brother on the nightstand. I could draw a bath, I supposed…but I didn't quite feel like bathing so late. There really wasn't much else to do but try to read on or lie down and –

A sudden knock at the door made me jump through my skin.

"Erik?" I called, straightening up.

"Christine, my dear, may I come inside? Are you awake?"

I rolled my eyes. Of course he had to know I was awake if I had just called out to him!

"Yes," I answered. Perhaps he'd dropped his dreary mood and would agree to a duet now. Something from _Romeo and Juliet_, maybe….

The door creaked open and Erik's tall, dark figure stepped into the dim candlelight.

"Have you been awake all this time?" he asked, eying the book sitting next to me.

"Yes," I told him. "I wasn't very tired."

"I see," he said, his eyes flickering to meet mine now. There was an awkward pause.

"Is anything wrong?" I prompted, wondering why he had come into my room at all.

"Oh – yes, goodness, do forgive me for the intrusion, my dear. Ah, no, nothing is wrong, nothing at all. However, I regrettably have to take a short leave of absence. I should be back within the hour, though. I wanted to make sure you'd be all right here on your own?"

I stared at him blankly.

"Leave? But where must you go, so late at night?" I asked. "Why now?"

"I just received an urgent message from the Daroga."

"Nadir?"

"Yes, Nadir. He is in need of my immediate assistance."

"Can't I go with you?"

"Are you too frightened to stay here by yourself?" he asked, suddenly tense. Under his white mask, I could see his brow furrow with worry. "I can take you upstairs to your dressing room if –"

"No, Erik, of course I'm all right to stay here. I just meant, can't I accompany you? It's been so long since I've seen dear Nadir and –"

I stopped, seeing his expression. He was shaking his head, looking deeply apologetic.

"As much as I value your company, Christine, I must ask you to stay put. I'm so sorry. This is an urgent matter, you understand."

"Is Nadir all right? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes, he's fine. I will provide you with more details later. But for now, I must go." He eyed me wearily. "You will be all right, then?"

I nodded and gave him a small smile, settling back into my place against the silky pillows.

He, too, smiled, and turned to leave, his long, black cape billowing out behind him as he swept back toward the door.

"Oh, Erik!" I called just before he left me alone completely.

He whipped around at once.

"Yes, my dear?"

"_You're_ all right, aren't you? You're not…hurt, or anything?"

He blinked.

"Yes. Yes, of course, I'm quite fine, I promise you. It is Nadir who needs my assistance."

"But you're not going to get more _opium_, are you? Oh, Erik, please say you aren't. You know how much I detest that old habit of yours!"

He chuckled gravely, waving his hand casually through the air.

"No, you needn't worry about that. I promised you I wouldn't restart that particular habit and I fully intend to keep my promise. This is merely – er – a _business_ call. But I must go immediately. Will you be awake when I return? I should be out no later than ten-thirty?"

I shrugged, shoving a lock of my curly hair behind my ear.

"Probably," I told him. "If my light is still on, come in, won't you? So I know you've made it back safely?"

Again, he flashed me a smile.

"Yes, of course. Good-night, my dear. I'll hurry back to you."

He exited into the hallway, shutting the door as he went, and I called out, "Be careful!" as an afterthought. Of course, by, "Be careful," I mostly meant, "Don't hurt anyone on your way," as he was prone to do whenever he went out unsupervised.

His sudden entrance had made me even less tired than before. I sat, listening to his dull footsteps fade down the hallway. Wonderful. Now what? I looked back at the brown leather-bound book to my left and turned up my nose. I certainly couldn't think of trying to engross myself in it now, when my restlessness had been fully renewed.

But a wonderful idea dawned on me.

Erik was gone, and wouldn't be back for at least an hour. There had only been one other occasion in which he'd left me alone in the past, but I had slept through it. Yet now, with my being wide awake, well…I could get away with a little _exploring_, couldn't I?

I whipped the down covers off and stepped out of bed before I had even made up my mind. Pulling my slippers on, I considered this rather insane idea. Erik wouldn't find out, would he, if I just had an innocent, self-guided tour around his home? After all, I'd been a guest here on more than several occasions! I'd seen every room here; there was no territory left unexplored by my curious eye. But never had I really examined his things…he had so many books in his bedroom, for example. I'd always been itching to further admire their fragile-looking, worn covers, to discover what secrets lie behind their leather façades.

I walked over to my door and the teased the knob with my fingers.

_But_, I thought, my stomach sinking, _what if he did find out_? Would he be very upset with me? I'd seen him in terrible moods before…the worst of which were sometimes brought on by seemingly innocent things. A mistake I made during my lessons, once in while, really made set him off. Or, more frequently, an off-hand remark made by La Carlotta sent him into a fury. Surely my snooping about his _home_, when he was such a secretive man, wouldn't sit well with him?

_Oh, but just this once! _I thought, curiosity flooding over me like a tidal wave. _I won't go _through_ anything…I'll just have a look around._

With that, I yanked open the door and stepped into the hallway.

It was much colder outside of my bedroom, as Erik had taken special means to block out the frigid underground temperatures within, mainly for my comfort. I shivered, wrapping my arms tightly around my chest as I walked toward the room in which he had been playing earlier. This room housed his prized organ, which I often suspected was made of pure gold, though that was quite a foolish thought. I knew Erik to possess a small fortune, but none so grand that he could procure such a fine, expensive instrument like _that_.

Although, as I thought more on the subject, I realized that I wouldn't put it past Erik to have _stolen_ such an extravagance.

I pushed the door open carefully, entering the room rather shyly. I nearly fainted when I caught a sudden, quick movement out of the corner of my eye.

"Ayesha!" I gasped, clutching a hand to my heart. It was Erik's Siamese cat! She was always prowling about this room, scowling at any intruder (though those were few). The only human being she showed any manner of civility toward was Erik himself – she absolutely _loathed_ me. I believed this whole-heartedly, despite Erik's assurances that she was a gentle, amiable creature. But she would claw and hiss madly whenever I stole away Erik's undivided attention.

I put up with her only because I knew how much she meant to Erik. Sometimes I suspected that she was the only thing Erik had ever really shown any real, genuine compassion toward; save for me, of course. But before my arrival, she had been his only real companion.

The thought suddenly made my chest hurt, and I found myself blinking back tears.

The cat wasn't so sympathetic. Her hiss sent a chill down my spine.

"Oh, _hush_!" I snapped at her. It felt strangely exhilarating to tell her off. Usually I had to pretend as if I were indifferent to her loud, obnoxious objections. Erik had to keep her shut away during my singing lessons, else she would sit and mew and complain until he gave in and placed her in his lap. I could always swear she gave me a triumphant smile when he did so.

Now, though, she was eying me all-too-knowingly, as if she somehow _knew_ I really oughtn't to have been in the room.

"It's all right," I said aloud, feeling foolish for talking to a cat, especially _this_ wretched beast. "I'm not going to bother _you._"

She didn't buy it for a second, and came bounding over to follow me around the room. I felt dreadfully uncomfortable, not wanting to do anything now, for fear she would somehow relate my every move back to Erik. I frowned.

"Shoo!" I cried angrily at last, having circled the room thrice. "Go on, leave me be! I only want to have a look at his new score!"

Naturally, she didn't move a muscle, but plopped down in the center of the room. She cocked her fuzzy head to the side, staring at me maliciously. Her reflective green eyes bore into my soul. I sighed, giving up.

"Fine!" I said stubbornly, like a child. "Stay there! See if I care!"

I walked over to the organ, my nose turned up determinedly. I carefully picked up the top page of music – from the piece he'd been working on all day – and started to hum the melody to myself. It was beautiful, of course, just as every one of Erik's pieces was. I often suggested he submit some of his longer scores to Monsieur Reyer, the maestro, but he refused each time I brought it up. It was a terrible shame, I thought, that his lovely music would never be heard by the public.

I sat down in front of the ivory keys, sifting through a large stack of yellow papers that sat on the organ, occasionally pausing to hum out a particularly beautiful melody, or to quietly sing an entire page. I suspected most of what I was singing was, in fact, written specifically with me in mind. It seemed that all of the lead females parts were composed for a soprano with my exact range.

I came to the last piece, disappointed that my fun was coming to an end. Whatever expectation I was unconsciously harboring for this final score fell through the floor instantly when I saw that the page had but one measure fully written out.

I sighed, gathering all of the papers and stacking them into what I hoped was a pile similar to the one with which I'd started. I ran my index finger over the pearly keys of the organ, accidently pressing down on an E, sending the note flying out into the air around me.

Ayesha hissed loudly. Having forgotten she was even there, I started and whipped around, my hair smacking me square in the face.

If cats could laugh, I felt sure Ayesha had just drawn pleasure from seeing me wince in pain. I eyed her crossly.

"So that's funny to you, is it? Making me jump like that?"

She merely purred and strutted across the room to her bed on the opposite wall, next to the couch. I scoffed, watching her with disgust.

But my eyes caught sight of something on the wall behind her. A strange jump in the pattern of the wallpapering. It almost looked like…

_No, it couldn't be._

Could it?

I stood up, ignoring the cat completely and walking over to inspect the spot on which my attention was fixed.

"A _door_?" I wondered aloud to myself, fingering the strange, sudden edge to the lattice design. Ayesha was watching me curiously, tensed to pounce if I did anything she didn't favor.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked her, looking down. I could have sworn she smiled at me evilly. Was that a yes?

I looked around. Why on earth would Erik have a door in the middle of this room? There couldn't be anything behind it; this was the backmost room in the house. There would only be rock beyond this wall.

But something told me that wasn't the case, knowing Erik. He would have a hidden chamber, despite the fact that he already enjoyed all the privacy he could ever ask for down here, five stories under the opera house.

Interest crept up through my veins, seizing me suddenly. I wanted to know what on earth he could be hiding like this!

I began searching wildly for a trick lever of some sort that would reveal this secret passage. A book, a little statue…_anything_, really. Surely that's how hidden doorways operated? There must be something near…

But after nearly twenty minutes of pulling, pushing, and tapping random objects in vain, I surrendered to the thought that perhaps this _wasn't _a hidden door after all. There was no trick lever in the room, I was sure of it. Or, at least, not one that I could locate. I felt an extreme sense of disappointment flood over me. Leave it to Erik to design an inoperable doorway….

Ayesha purred contentedly from her little bed. My nose turned up as I glanced over at her.

"Oh, yes, _you_. Just sit there, nice and cozy. Don't bother to help me! You must be quite at ease watching me from your little –" I froze. She jumped up.

"Bed," I finished with a whisper.

_Yes, of course!_ I threw myself down on the floor next to Ayesha's little cushion, shoving her pillow aside. This naturally earned me a furious scratch to the hand, but I paid no mind. I drew back the fluffy fabric and –

"_Viola!_" I yelled triumphantly. There, hidden in the wooden floor, was a _switch_!

Excitement rushed through me, followed almost immediately by an overwhelming sense of fear that froze my blood cold. I sat back against the side of the sofa, ignoring Ayesha's nasty bout of hysterical purring and clawing as she fought to flatten her bed back to its normal position. What would Erik possibly have to hide behind such a well-disguised door? It was clearly something he didn't want me, or _anyone_, to come across.

I turned and glanced at the grandfather clock that stood out in the hallway. It was forty of nine. I had at least fifteen minutes, at the very least, before Erik's return.

I bit my lip, thinking hard and fast. Did I dare go through this door and risk seeing…

Seeing what, exactly? Something awful?

_But suppose it wasn't awful?_ I thought. _Suppose it was just another room? A study? _

_A library!_ I thought, renewing my excitement and leaning down over the switch again. Without giving myself time for more doubting, I turned the little lever in the ground and stood up as the doorway swung open.

I smiled victoriously at Ayesha.

"You see? He can't outsmart me!" I said proudly. She bared her teeth at me and let out a positively awful guttural growl.

I shook my head, tuning her out to turn my attention back to my new discovery. The room beyond was pitch black; I couldn't make anything out, even from what little light leaked in. I quickly lit a candle and hurried through the entrance, jittery with anticipation.

The room was far too big for the candlelight to illuminate anything of note, but I could see that the dim light was cast in an odd, reflected, shimmery way around me.

In fact, as my eyes adjusted, I realized I could see at least twelve different candles flickering back at me.

"A mirror," I breathed. I thought wildly of my dressing room mirror, through which Erik had constructed a pathway down to his home. But, no…this was much too far underground to come out at my dressing room. I took another careful step forward, holding the candle over my head and squinting into the blackness.

Without warning, the entryway door snapped shut with a deafening, echoing _boom!_ I spun around, confused and startled. Before I could make sense of it, a blinding light flooded the room, dazzling me. I squeezed my eyes shut, blinded, a paralyzing fear coursing through me. My knees hit the floor with a sickening crunch before I even realized that I had fallen.

_Oh, no! _I thought immediately. _Erik! He must have come back!_

But something was wrong. Why would he lock me in here without saying anything first? And the room…the room getting hot. Too hot. I opened my eyes, expecting to see a fire, as I had carelessly let go of my candle upon dropping to the ground. But the candle had merely rolled a few feet away, safely extinguished.

Something was definitely wrong. Why was it so _warm_?

I sucked in a steadying breath, trying to calm the whirlwind of panic that was raging in my chest. I looked around at last, squinting in the horribly bright light.

My mouth dropped open in horror. I certainly wasn't in a library. I wasn't even in a real _room._

Every wall around me, floor to ceiling, was a mirror.

And I had to watch myself, from twelve different angles, come to the realization that I had no idea which panel was the one through which I'd entered. The doorway had sealed itself, perfectly disguised with the rest of this horrible place.

I stood up, panic constricting my throat. I ran wildly to a section of the wall, pulling desperately at the unwavering glass. My sweaty fingers slipped, screeching across the smooth surface.

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, _no!_" I moaned. "Oh, _God_, what have I done?"

I clanging noise behind me made me spin around in terror. My heart dropped to the floor. Something even more terrifying had materialized: a noose, a real _noose_, had dropped down from the center of the ceiling!

My mind worked frantically, trying to catch up. Comprehension dawned on me slowly, like poison creeping through my veins.

"Oh, _God!_"

I was in Erik's torture chamber! I had heard Nadir speak of it before, only once, but I never believed it to _really_ exist! But now, it seemed all too vividly real, like some sick nightmare in which I was hopelessly trapped. I looked wildly at my fallen candle, hoping that it would somehow point me toward my exit, toward my escape.

I ran up to another mirrored panel, pounding on the glass with all of my might, letting terror seize full control over me.

"No!" I tried to yell. My voice was weak with panic. I coughed madly, spluttering for words. "N-NO! Erik? _ERIK!_ _Help me! SOMEBODY HELP ME!_"

The room was growing hotter by the minute, and I was growing dizzier with fear. My mind was whirring at an insane pace, trying to think of a way out of here. My only chance – _my only chance_ – was for Erik to come home soon.

But – oh, God! What if he didn't come home for another half an hour? What was I to do? What other horrors did this room hold?

How hot would the room become before my only options were to burn alive or to hang myself?

I swallowed back a waterfall of panicked tears and continued to pound on the glass with all of my might.

"ERIK!" I screamed, "ERIK!_ ERIK!_ NO! ERIK, PLEASE! _HELP ME! ERIK!"_

He was my only hope. My only chance. I would never find the doorway, never find a way out, in my terrible panic. He had to come back soon. _He had to come back soon!_

"ERIK!" I continued. "_ERIK!_" Tears streamed down my cheeks, dripping off my chin onto my chest. I began to sob hysterically, gasping for air. I couldn't seem to catch my breath. It was so incredibly hot in here. So stifling hot that I could hardly breathe. "ERIK! _PLEASE! ERIK!"_

A chunk of glass broke off as I continued to punch the mirror with every ounce of strength I could muster. I felt blood ooze down my arm, hot and sticky. But I didn't feel the pain, nor did I care even to examine myself. It was so hot, so _hot_ in this horrible room! I looked into the eyes of my reflection. My desperate face looked severe and distorted in the hazy light. My eyes shifted to gaze just behind me, to the noose, hanging there tauntingly.

"_NO!_" I screamed, crying harder than ever. I prayed with of all my might that Erik was home. That he would hear me at all. That he could rescue me soon. _"ERIK!_"

I sank to the floor, blood and tears mingling together in a puddle at my feet. I struggled to catch my breath, still banging on the unforgiving – now shattered – glass.

My only hope was Erik.

My only hope was that he found me soon.

Before it was too late.


End file.
